Why is this important?
This event is unprecedented. The sudden brightening of the galaxy can be caused by various phenomena. However, such flares only last a few tens or a few hundred days at most. The galaxy in question shines brighter to this day – for more than four years since the beginning of the observed changes. Furthermore, the flares are unlike anything observed before.
Scientists noticed that the galaxy emits a much greater amount of ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation, and since February of this year it has also been emitting X-rays.
What did the expert say?
– Imagine that you observed a distant galaxy for years and it always seemed quiet and inactive – says Professor Hans. Paola Sanchez Saez of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile. – Suddenly, at its center, there are dramatic changes in brightness unlike anything we’ve seen before.
“This will be the first time we see a black hole active in real time,” he asserts. According to scientists, a black hole in a distant galaxy began rapidly consuming the gas surrounding it.
Could this happen in our galaxy?
Supermassive black holes are found at the centers of most galaxies, including the Milky Way. A similar phenomenon may also occur in the supermassive black hole in our galaxy (Sagittarius A*). However, it is not known how likely this is.
What then?
Astronomers will continue to monitor galaxy SDSS1335+0728. There is a possibility that the observed changes can be explained differently, for example by very slow tidal disturbance or by some completely unknown phenomenon. “Regardless of the nature of these changes, this galaxy provides us with valuable information about how black holes grow and evolve,” Professor Sanchez Saez points out.
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